Memories
by o.ForeverYoung.o
Summary: "Time passed. Cities rose and fell, mountains fell into dust and the continents shifted. The burning drifted into numbness. His heart fluttered and stopped, no longer having anything left to beat for." - Jacob's POV, alternative ending to "Breaking Dawn"


_This story may sound a little strange, but that's because the idea came to me in a dream. It's set in "Breaking Dawn", after Edward changes Bella. However in this version, Jacob takes off as soon as she is changed (so he doesn't imprint with Renesmee). _

_Please let me know what you think..._

_And enjoy :)_

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**Memories**

Through the darkness he ran. Two paws a step in front of the others, filled with determination, unceasing and unrelenting. If one could see his eyes, they'd find them locked onto a distant target. Nothing but that goal existed, and nothing else mattered.

The darkness was infinite. This was a place that God had forgotten about, for if he knew it existed, he would destroy mankind out of kindness. Hell was nothing in comparison to this. This was a darkness not created by any being, for it was absolute beyond creation, and beyond time and omnipotence itself.

This place was so dark, that he could no longer hear Seth or Leah's voices within his head. He couldn't even hear his own. There was only one thing driving him now.

The darkness closed in and brushed against him. Where it touched, his skin stung. Burning with the fire of the suffocating pain that was engulfing his body and mind. He took no notice of this. It didn't matter. Pain was not an issue, only his goal was. On he went, pushing against the invisible force that enclosed him.

It felt like an infinite amount of time passed. Stars moved and the seasons changed. Now the darkness was increasing, and it dug deep into him. His paws began to ache. Blood dripped from their soles, leaving tracks of his presence in the darkness.

Still he moved on, even faster, knowing his time was running out. He must hurry, he must reach his target. This time he would make it. This would be it, the end of it all.

Time passed. Cities rose and fell, mountains fell into dust and the continents shifted. The burning drifted into numbness. His heart fluttered and stopped, no longer having anything left to beat for.

Still, even this could not stop him. Death was a small obstacle, as long as he kept moving. The goal danced on the edges of his mind, he couldn't quite remember it, but he knew what it was. He needed it. It was the sole object of his existence, and so he went on, losing more and more time, and more of his mind.

Time passed, stars formed and died, universes collapsed and expanded. Moving was becoming harder and harder, but was still possible. He couldn't let himself stop, not when he was so close to the end of the darkness. He'd make it this time, he had to. As long as there remained a small part of his mind and small piece of his soul in it, he could continue the journey.

He needed to remember. That was the true prize at the end, remembering what he so badly wanted to. The idea that danced on the edges of his consciousness, that rode on his soul and was a part of what made him exist. It drove him, and he'd never become satisfied until he got it back.

Time passed, and time ended. The universe ceased to be, and God laid himself down to rest in Heaven.

But the wolf still moved. He felt as if his legs were gone, reduced to ash in the darkness. He pulled himself along, no longer letting loose a breath with each strain. It was his last chance. There would be no other time, for he was all, and he was only longing for the object.

Finally, he could see it. There, in the blackness, a single shape shimmered, letting loose small bits of light.

_I'm still here, Jake_ it said, beckoning. Eternity had passed thousands of times over during the search. Now it came to an end.

No longer able to feel his body, he phased back into his human form. His desperation, his last appendage, dragged him along frantically to the image in the darkness. The memory on the edges of his mind pulled at him, not coming into focus yet, but desiring the object, knowing it would give him what he so badly wanted.

He could see it clearly now. It was a faded photograph, torn at the edges and worn through the eons. With his frail and failing hand, he reached out and gripped it. He could not sigh with relief, nor did he have the power to smile, but now he had won over time, death, and God, and reached what he so desired. Eager, he lifted the photo to see.

White. Blank. Empty. The photo had faded too much, and there was no image on it any longer. The memory he so badly wanted to find was gone, lost with everything else. There was no torment greater than this.

Out of the corner of his eye, a single tear formed. It rolled down the side of his face as his body disappeared into the blackness, fading away at having lost the only thing that kept it going.

The single tear fell, as the human was no more. The wolf that took its place hurled itself back in the opposite direction, howling out in agony. Where the tear landed, the dirt from eons of waiting was washed away for a moment. Beneath were the faces of two young best friends, the girl's deep brown eyes and gentle mouth curved into a smile for that single moment of time.

The dust that the wolf left behind swirled off into nothingness, unable to cry, unable to feel, unable to continue.

Remembering a lost memory.


End file.
